By Dr. Bruce ScottTaylor I.S.D. Superintendent
Dear Community Members:
On behalf of the Taylor ISD Board of Trustees, the school administration and myself, I wish to offer my sincere appreciation and gratitude for the support our school children and Taylor ISD have been given by the passage of the recent school bond package.
At 11:30 p.m. Tuesday night (Nov. 4th), we finally received the confirmation that voters had turned out in record numbers (4,483) to pass the largest school bond in the district’s history. It was refreshing to realize that voters had “officially” given their support for a new high school and an expected 1,000 new seats. We will also begin the process of renovating a 40-year-old campus and eliminating some 30-year-old portable classrooms.
We recognize the efforts of the Citizens for the Children of Taylor volunteers and we are extremely proud of the valuable leadership and voter education which Jesse Ancira Jr., Leslie Hill, Keith Hagler and Joe Naizer offered to our cause. The entire community should be proud of their work and their efforts to bring more educational opportunities to all our school children.
By law, Taylor ISD is only allowed to present the facts regarding the bond election but after the fact, we can plainly say how proud and pleased we were with voter action. I will be meeting with the Board of Trustees next week to continue the planning process. There is much work to do before we go out for bids in the Fall and sell our bonds. If all goes well, we can expect to open the doors to the new high school in 2011.
Please understand that the Taylor ISD Board of Trustees and the school administration take the responsibility of this bond election seriously. All of our decisions will be based on what is best for students and taxpayers. We have many needs that have been thoroughly fleshed out by the Community Facilities Committee and with the construction of the new high school, we will initiate “their” plan of action, which was adopted by the Board of Trustees.
Please know that we understand the tax burden associated with the bond package and while our $43 million package adds .32 cents to our tax rolls, towns like Austin, Round Rock, Leander and Georgetown can add 100’s of millions in improvements for just a few pennies. That is the funding equity issue we deal with everyday and we would appreciate your efforts and support to help change that system.
Should State monies once again become available for new school construction, we will vigorously apply for those funds to save taxpayers as much money as possible. But again, by law, we were not allowed to address that issue prior to the bond election.
Please realize that we are as proud of our students and staff today as we are of voters. Despite what you read, there are no “bad” schools in Taylor. We have some work to do with regard to our high school math and science scores, but understand that the State awarded Taylor ISD passing and commended marks in 52 of the 54 criteria scored.
Our goal is to prepare all Taylor students to become successful citizens and to have our community be as proud of them as we were of voters on Tuesday.
A new Taylor High School began as a dream 18 months ago during planning by the Community Facilities Committee and your vote Tuesday will make it a reality.
“Duck Pride” is alive and well in Taylor, Texas and our “thanks” will be the continued push for excellence in the classroom. We want Taylor Public Schools to be the schools of choice in East Williamson County!
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